Erk's Journey
by Macross-Green
Summary: Erk's point of view as it begins in Chapter 17. Erk x Fiora. Strange pairing or not? Now finished!
1. Default Chapter

Erk's Journey

Author's Note: Yes! In an e-mail with Sara Jaye, I found myself with a new pairing to work with. So, as a result, Sara Jaye gets partial credit for this fic. This one won't be easy, but considering how well I believe I did with Erk's Aftermath, I've found myself working with the contrary mage once more. Who will he be paired up with? The winds of fate are fickle, my friends. The only clue I shall provide is that the person is not someone he can support with at all in the game. I may also include a bit of Guy in here, possibly with a unique pairing of his own as well! Hehe... I hope you'll like this offering even more than I will writing it!

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-Chapter 17-  
Damn the boat ride!

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Ah, by Elimine. Cannot even you see fit to spare me for but a single day? Must I always be near... her? My mental voice dripped with venom as I cast a glance to the one that our wonderful tactician, good ol' Mark, had beseeched me to protect. Indeed, if he hadn't nearly gone to his knees to beg me to do so, I would never step foot near this... and yes, I hesitate to say woman. I would rather not even say girl, for to do so would be insulting to the two girls in our group that were at least well behaved. Yes, compared to Rebecca and Priscilla, even to Lady Lyndis, how could I call the pink haired, loud-mouthed, ill-tempered cleric a woman or even a girl?

I was not the only to think of her as such, and why Mark even allowed her on the battlefield was beyond me. Especially since we were at sea, and her prancing about as if she were on a holiday made her quite the sight. Shamans to the right, mercenaries to the left, and a mixture to the rear of the ship. By Elimine... if it wasn't for the fact that I still felt ill from all this rocking, I would likely wish to test my strength against the mercenaries and shaman that the rest of the group was facing. But no, because of the violent rocking, I, at least, was not alone in my misery. For, beside me, there was another. I looked over to him and smiled grimly, and he returned the look. Neither of us could help becoming seasick on this voyage. I had never sailed aboard a ship, and he had never truly left the plains and flat ground.

Guy was a good person- quiet, likeable. Good with a blade and dependable when one needed to decapitate an opponent in one swift attack. He suddenly looked to Serra, that pink haired pain in the ass that I had first met over a year ago. Damn that woman. Even now I despised her beyond belief. I once heard from Lord Pent that when it came to men and women, opposites attract. Yet, I could not ever think that I would meet a woman any more opposite from me than she. She just seemed to watch the battle and waved her staff about. Every so often, Wil would come closer and call for her, leaving us a brief respite as Kent, Lyn, Eliwood, Lucius and Hector provided the shield that stopped all possible Black Fang troops from coming closer. Mark was at Eliwood's side, providing him a vulnerary before dashing off to another of our troop requiring aid.

Oh, how I wish I could turn back time to a year ago and force myself to have lost this woman in the forests outside of Lycia after we had first met. But no, the experience I would have gained at that time far exceeded the wish that I had done so- for, I had learned much during my first travels with Mark and Lady Lyndis, the fine pair that they obviously were for one another during our battles against Lyndis' grand-uncle. I had pleaded with Mark to station the annoying cleric a tad too close to castle caelin, to easily be better able to heal any of our people he sent in to attack the old general. Obviously, since she was standing here still, the answer to that request had been a no.

My stomach heaved and I very nearly fell overboard, my body pitching forward before I felt a pair of hands on my shoulder. Rough hands, it seemed, and I looked over my shoulder to see the young myrmidon keeping me steady. Serra was busy recovering from the efforts of healing Wil, thankfully, and was nowhere nearby to try and annoy me once more. "My thanks." I managed, my mouth and throat dry as I nodded to the young man. He smiled again and nodded, before looking around carefully. A mercenary had boarded our side of the ship, and none of the others had noticed yet!

The ship gave a violent lurch to the side, halting the mercenary's advance towards our position. Unfortunately, my stomach heaved again as I attempted to keep my footing upon the planks of the deck. Guy seemed to do much the same, and soon wound up beside me at the side of the ship. I heard a few wet heaves and knew that someone's breakfast would soon be feeding the fish of the ocean. I shuddered slowly, hating the sound of that but knowing that I couldn't blame my friend for his illness. We shared it, after all, but I managed to keep the contents of my breakfast down (barely!) as I moved to the mercenary. Kent had moved to block any more from invading this side, but had been unable to face off with this one as others attempted to hustle down the planks that the 'Fang had set up for boarding the ship.

My tome of thunder came from where I usually kept it at my side, and he felt the power within the book mingle with my own magical strength. Meager though it was in comparison with my teacher, I knew that I could defeat this mercenary with what strength I did have to me. I remained just out of the reach of his blade as I began to recite the arcane words that took me so long to master, and then I threw my arm downwards as if to throw something at my target. A sound of magical thunder shot out and a powerful strike of magical energy slammed into my target from above. A cry of pain that lasted only a short moment burst from him before he fell overboard, dead even before hitting the water that the ships were floating on top of.

Then I felt another presence come near me from behind, and I shivered again. The use of even a single powerful spell like that drained me somewhat- I would need a moment to recover. But, I soon found that that moment that I could possibly have had brought me into the worst predicament I ever could have faced myself being in. It was that pink-haired wench from the bowels of hell that were so deep that even Saint Elimine herself would have trouble seeing them!

"Oh, hi there, Erk." she said, and I was unable to reply. Lord Pent had once said, while providing me with information that might prove useful about women, that if you had nothing polite or nice to say to or about them, saying nothing at all would be the only way to survive one's wrath. So, I said nothing in return to the annoying woman. Never did it occur to me to walk away... perhaps my heaving stomach could be coerced into emptying itself onto her dress? Nay... then I would have others' attempting to make me pay for the white clerical garb that she wore. Damn. "You should be thanking me." she said to me, and I closed my eyes. Why should I thank her? For talking to me so much that I could never want to be near a cute girl again?

"I'm the one who got you into this outfit. In fact, you should be terribly grateful to me!" she exclaimed, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Her logic, that is. Even a normal woman's logic was never this mysterious, I thought to myself. Lady Louise was an unusual woman, but Serra? She took the mountain! Oh yes, I was grateful to have managed to escape from Laus thanks to Lord Eliwood and Mark's troops with Lady Priscilla, but was I grateful to have joined all thanks to this devil in cleric's guise? No!

Then, I looked thoughtful for a moment. I was in fact thinking of how to say this to her in such a way that she might understand how annoying she was being. "...Well, you did introduce me to Lord Eliwood..." I replied, and the smug look on her face grew even more as she smiled even wider. But the smile I wanted to smile inside began to grow as I continued. "But that's about it, really." I commented. The smug look on her face gave way to astonishment, and before she could even reply (I had learned how to speak quickly, thanks to her constant interruptions), I commented again. "I owe you no special obligation."

She had the look of surprise and shock at being spoken to in such a manner, and I couldn't help the small grin that I had been building up to giving for over a year now. "That's the most ungrateful thing I've ever heard!" she exclaimed, and I grinned even wider. Indeed, I didn't actually owe the little cleric a damned thing. I didn't want anything to do with her- never did before, never will in the future. "You know, Erk, I've been with them longer than you have..." and I rolled my eyes. What, a week longer, possibly two? What a seniority! "So you really should treat me like your superior!"

I shook my head slowly- my head was beginning to pound again and the urge to lose my breakfast as Guy had done earlier came back to haunt me. "...As usual, you use entirely confounding logic." I replied, looking her straight in the eyes as I held back that nagging urge in my stomach and the back of my throat to just let loose. "Doesn't Lord Eliwood decide such matters?" I asked now, one hand holding my Thunder tome and my free hand clutching at my stomach to try and ease the upset feeling I was having.

"Well, he hasn't mentioned it yet, but I'm sure he would agree." she said, and a sudden rocking of the ship caused my breakfast to force its way back up the way it had originally gone down in. Elimine... not even you could provide a bishop the patience to outlast the utterings of this child of your very church, I thought. "After all, I am his close friend and Hector's fiancee!" and at that I very nearly laughed if it wasn't for the bile that I could imagine that I was tasting now. Hector's fiancee? Elimine must not care too much for Lord Hector, I realized, if such a comment was actually the truth.

With a swallow to hold back my food, I gasped and then looked at the pink haired 'priestess' before I could talk again. "Well, I've heard enough. Talking to you is just a neverending heache..." and I walked away, over to the railing of the ship as I heard a commotion near the steps that led below decks. Obviously, Fargus had returned, and as Serra protested to what I had said, I proceeded to empty the contents of my breakfast out over the side of the ship to land with a soft splash that could not be heard, in the ocean itself. Ah... such relief. The battle was over... both with my stomach and with the Black Fang. Perhaps now I could enjoy some peace away from the damned cleric? I certainly hope so.

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At least the continuation of our journey on the ship was uneventful. Unfortunately, both my seasickness and Guy's continued until we nearly made landfall, when our illness began to loosen its grasp upon us. Though we stayed mostly in the room provided to us, there was no chance in Elibe that Serra was going to let me get away with being seasick the whole time. It nearly got so bad that when she offered to heal me, one of the many times, I almost allowed her to do so. But no, I was not about to accept charity from the annoying cleric.

As we neared the shore, Guy and I were watching the land with a longing that I know I had never felt before. Solid ground! No more rocking ship, and food that tasted rather stale... though really, I would simply be happy having something that would just stay down for good, rather than wanting me to taste it more than once. "Erk?" came a quieter voice than I was used to. Strange, that wasn't the demon cleric from St. Elimine's darkest hell. I looked over my shoulder and smiled weakly to the girl that stood there and had said my name.

"Ah... yes, Lady Lyndis?" I asked, smiling for only a short moment longer before groaning softly. "Ah, I really hate ships." I commented, and Lyn giggled softly before watching me with saddened eyes. I was touched- obviously, she was concerned for me. The other two lords had simply avoided both myself and Guy ever since we left Badon. I could not blame them for staying away from us, for we were the only two who were seasick on this voyage of ours.

"I had a word with Mark, and he believes it would be best if we try to keep you away from Serra for a while. I saw how you looked at her when she spoke to you during the battle. Thank you for managing to not, ah... well, you know." she mentioned, a blush appearing on the girl's cheeks as I nodded to her. Oh, yes... I knew what she meant, easily. The stain would never have escaped the white cloth that the cleric always wore. I smiled a little, my stomach settling somewhat. Being around Lady Lyndis always did have a calming effect on me, for some reason. She is a very beautiful girl, possibly 18 years or so in age: 2 or 3 years older than I am, I realized.

"Ah, well, if I had any less strength, milady, rest assured that her clothes would not remain the pristine color that they are still." I said, and grinned slightly- a jest that I could barely have come up with even were I feeling much better than this. "And... thank you, milady. I was beginning to wonder if Guy and myself were simply on display for everyone else." I commented. Indeed, Guy nodded in agreement to those words that I said and the girl before us shook her head quickly, a look in her eyes telling the two of us that she was serious.

"Of course not! I simply thought that you might prefer not to speak with others, for fear that the effort might, you know... I cannot speak for the others, of course, but I am certain that it is the same with them as well." she said. Lady Lyndis was a fairly intelligent woman, but though Guy might not be too smart, it did not take a genius to realize that the others were most likely thinking about how funny it was to see us both sick on this trip. At times, we seemed to vie for the ability to see who could empty their stomach first. It was not a game that we played for fun or anything- it was not even a game, period.

"Ah... we thank you, Lady Lyndis." came Guy's voice. His voice was even more shy than mine, strangely, but then again it might have been because his throat was drier than mine was. I nodded in agreement, and we both bowed to the woman that came from both the plains and Caelin. The motion brought a fresh sense of bile to my senses, and I had to immediately cover my mouth as I swallowed it back and turned quickly to deal with the outgoing lunch that I had just eaten a short while ago. I heard another unique wet sound and could tell that Guy was doing the same thing. How humiliating, I thought to myself. Having to do this in front of the only lord that had spoken to us during this long voyage...

But then, I felt a hand on my back. Its warmth spread along my spine and I shivered a little as the hand began to rub up and down lightly, and I breathed deeply, attempting to relax again slowly. I looked over my shoulder and saw Lady Lyndis there, smiling softly to both me and Guy- she was rubbing both of our backs, and Guy just seemed to stiffen a bit as she continued to rub. "Try to take it easy, you two. We should be on land by nightfall." she said quietly, still smiling. Amazing. She truly was more concerned about others' welfare more than her own, as Matthew had said once or twice before. Who could have thought she would do something like this?

A flash caught my eye, far off along the ship, and I looked from Lyn and over towards the front of the ship itself. I could not see too well, with dark strands of my own hair in the way, but it looked like someone wearing white was wearing a rather angry look on her face. I grinned slightly as I saw that and looked away as I felt Lyn's hand leave my back. "I hope that Elimine will allow you both to feel better by the time we land, my friends. I shall be back to check on you later." she told us, and I smiled to her, feeling a little better now for some odd reason. Perhaps it was the feeling of satisfaction, having annoyed the cleric to no end, because of the attention that I had received from Lady Lyndis?

It very well could be. I looked over to Guy and saw that he had relaxed a bit- had he a crush on Lady Lyndis, perhaps? Was that the reason he had been so tense when she was speaking with the two of us? He glanced to me and sighed softly before giving me a certain look that was obviously meant only for me. The look practically said to me, 'tell anyone, and die.' Looks like, once again, I was right. I simply nodded to Guy in agreement, and he relaxed even more as we both smiled. He was my friend, and I had very few of those. Comrades in arms, I had everyone in the troop, but real friends? They were few, even in this group of people. But Guy was certainly one of them.

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Ah, that evening we had a large fire made from dead wood that had been found within the large forest that was in the northern tip of the Dread Isle. Guy and I were allowed to rest near the fire that was being built, rather than having to go out and get the firewood. We remained near the fire along with Ninian, who seemed to be suffering some sort of illness of the mind. She could hardly speak and didn't really even know her name! It was strange, to see this girl I had traveled with before so quiet again... Much more quiet than she had been during our travels with Lady Lyndis and Mark about a year ago.

Even Sain, the ever present lout, was gone to look for wood with Rebecca and Wil in tow. He had not even attempted to get close to Ninian since she had been rescued from the small boat that she had been drifting along the currents in. Any attempts to ask him why would simply result in a simple answer that even I could approve of: "The poor girl needs time to regain herself." It was a good reason, but I could also tell that he could have said something more as well, possibly that attempting to get close to a girl who could not remember anything would likely just be a waste. Besides, she seemed to respond only to Eliwood's voice, for the most part, and to Lyn, to a lesser degree.

Merlinus had been good enough to provide everyone with blankets that he had been carrying with him in the stores. The man, though unusual and completely worthless in a battle, certainly could carry a lot. Leave it to the peddler, as Lord Hector had said when he saw just how much the merchant carried with him all the time. With a sigh, I lay back on the log that I had been sitting on, my robe slipping to the side as I stared up to the darkened sky above. I could not see a single star or even the pale face of the moon.

I closed my eyes and found myself asleep within mere moments. Of course, being at sea on that Davros, the ship of Fargus the pirate, and being seasick had made it nearly impossible to grab more than an hour of sleep every day. That might be fine for Guy, who was attempting to better himself through training long and hard. But for me? Nay, it would be folly. I required more rest to regain my magical strength than he did to regain his physical strength.

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It was the next day to the sound of a loud and surprised cry that I awoke. My hand flew to my tome of thunder and I immediate got to my feet and rushed towards the sound of Lords Eliwood and Hector yelling at someone. When I got there, there was some sort of nomad that was holding Lady Lyndis. I could see Kent clenching his lance with both hands as all we could do was watch as they spoke with the man. It took only a moment longer before Lyndis was released by the nomad- some sort of code of honor, was what I heard the man speak of, kept him from using hostages when an honest battle could take place.

I hadn't noticed before, but there was fog all about us, and I could hardly see a thing. Our resident thief was nowhere to be found, and I could only wonder as to where Matthew had gone. Mark gave out some orders, and for some reason kept Florina in the party. Perhaps our resident diviner, the old woman named Hannah, had given him some small advice as to who to bring to this battle. I was even allowed to fight, after a quick check over by the tactician. He may not be a physician or a cleric, but he did know what to look for when it came to someone who could fight, it seemed.

I was stationed behind Eliwood, and Florina was to my right as Mark spread us out so we could repel the attackers. We would have to move fast- the nomad had said that if we could defeat him quickly, then perhaps we might achieve some quicker way to the place that Nergal had Marquess Pherae. With his voice on the wind, it was a surprise to all when Matthew reappeared with some torches and he lit one. Ah, now we could actually see! And there were quite a number of archers about, no less. Florina's Huey reared back a bit, and she reached down to try and calm the beast. I could not blame the Pegasus at all- it recognized something that could end it's life with a single arrow, after all.

"Dame Florina! I shall provide cover for you, should we be out maneuvered." I told her, trying to keep my voice low but loud enough for the shy girl to hear me. And she did hear my voice, looking over to me with a look of confusion and fear before a steel resolve covered the now hidden emotions that she had shown a second ago. Good, I thought, as I smiled softly to the girl who was for some reason very afraid of men. She was kind of like me- I was afraid of a certain woman getting on my nerves, but Florina was worse because of her fear of all men. Only to the Tactician did she actually speak to close to normally, and even then it took her a while to say anything meaningful. She never seemed to be afraid of me... though, to tell the truth, we had never had any real reason to speak to one another.

We nodded to one another and stayed back as the rest of the troop advanced. The light from Matthew's torch began to flicker and dim a bit, and we could no longer see very far towards the shore. What if the 'Fang stationed some of their troops near the shore, I wondered, a bit fearful that Mark might not have thought of that possibility. But then his voice came down on the wind itself (it was an interesting trick that I always wondered about. How did he manage it?), telling the two of us to move closer to Merlinus to provide cover, as well as to get a set of torches for ourselves. A good call, I thought, as Florina went to speak with Merlinus, who had heard Mark's order and had the torch ready for her.

It took but a moment for the torch to be lit, and then I found myself knocked down by some sort of limb that had been in the air! Damned fog, I had no way of knowing that there had been someone flying towards us! But wait... whoever it was hadn't noticed me yet. I stood back up, groaning slightly in pain as I looked to see who this might be. Whoever it was had settled not too far from Florina and myself, and there stood a pegasus with a rider on its back. I couldn't hear what she was saying, but Mark had obviously spotted her. Some sort of divine influence caused him to send Florina after the woman, and I drew closer as they drew to the close of their conversation.

"Florina, please introduce me to your commander." were the only words I heard the woman say to the younger pegasus knight that I had known for over a year. From the look on Florina's face, she knew who it was. In fact, I'd never seen such happiness in Florina's eyes before! I remembered hearing about a sister or two during the travels with Lady Lyndis a year ago, and found myself wondering if this could possibly be one of them. She did share several similarities with the younger Florina, though obviously this pegasus knight was older and much more confident sounding. She didn't stutter at all, which was quite an improvement over what Florina usually did. Florina nodded to the woman, and then at the sound of rustling behind us turned about. I did the same, and I heard a whinny from the other pegasus as the new knight to join our group turned as well. Pirates were coming in from the shoreline! Oh great... and there were several, too.

The pegasus knights used lances and spears, and the pirates used a pair of axes. Not a good choice, I thought, as I darted forward to face the first one. "Erk, don't! Stay close!" came Florina's voice as she yelled at me. Amazing, she actually yelled at me! A very hard to believe thing had occurred, and if I hadn't heard her myself, I would never have believed it. But then I was close enough, yet out of reach of the pirate's axes, and I cast my spell. A magical bolt flashed down from the heavens, clouded though they were, and the pirate was badly hurt, though not killed by my attack. I felt the air as it was shoved aside, and then a blast of wind caused me to move out of the way as the new pegasus knight came before me and struck out with her lance.

"You should listen to my sister, sir Erk." she said, and spared a smile to me after the pirate fell from where he stood to lie dead before the knight. I nodded slightly, getting a much better look at the woman as I smiled a little bit. Saint Elimine... she was quite the beauty! The color of her hair reminded me of Lady Lyndis' hair, though hers was much fuller and possibly a shade lighter as well. Or was it perhaps the dimness of the light thanks to the fog that made her hair seem that way? She carried herself well, with that lance of hers at her side and astride the pegasus. "My name is Fiora."

"Well met, dame Fiora. Thank you for your assistance." I found myself saying after a momentary lapse of concentration. Indeed, we soon found ourselves dealing with a pair of pirates. I took the one that had come from the direction nearest the bridge that had been to the east, and both the pegasus knights were dealing with the one that had emerged from near the coast, from the same direction that I had found my first opponent come from when Fiora had come inland. I forced myself to deal with the job at hand, for it was not finished yet. Indeed, it only took a few more minutes before Mark's expert instruction provided us with a respite in the form of Kent dealing the final blow with his lance upon the nomadic trooper that had taken Lyn hostage just before all this began.

This was not an easy battle, I decided, looking about the land as the fog slowly lifted. There were corpses of Black Fang troops everywhere! And of course, our troop suffered no casualties, either. Mark was a good tactician, though he absolutely hated the bookkeeping that was sometimes involved in the job. We packed up the camp after the battle, knowing that if we remained any longer that we would be asking for a larger force of the Black Fang troops to come in and attack us than there had already been. With my things packed and in tow now, I set off behind most of the troop. Guy was rather closeby, and we made some small talk as we walked, the time going much quicker now. A pair of shadows loomed over us after a while, and we looked up to see Florina and Fiora as they spoke with one another about how they had been lately.

Then, Fiora looked over to us and smiled a little bit. "Florina, shall we give our comrades a ride?" she asked, and Florina blushed for a moment, looking as if she had just heard something that might have been considered funny by someone else. Fiora winked to her sister and then held her hand out to me. "Come now, Erk. No need to walk so much if you do not need to... or do you prefer to walk?" she asked, smiling to me as my hand slid into hers and she provided me some leverage as I was pulled up behind her upon the pegasus. Florina stopped in place, and Guy blinked in surprise as he watched her for a moment, a blush on his face as well. Then the myrmidon smiled and nodded to her, moving astride Huey without Florina's help.

My hands went about the older girl's waist- she couldn't be much older than I am, could she? She didn't seem that much older than Florina, after all. "I thank you, Fiora. After being ill aboard the ship, I have yet to fully recover." I commented, and she smiled a little to me before looking over to her sister. I looked as well, and smiled slowly at the way I saw both the younger pegasus knight blush and the myrmidon look away. His hands were around the girl's waist as well, and obviously both were in some discomfort as Fiora chuckled softly at the look on her sister's face.

"I see that you have not changed since the last I saw you, Florina." she said, and Florina looked over to her sister, glaring at her older sibling. Ah, the ways of a family- how I had not had the chance to know them, I reflected, and then looked over Fiora's shoulder to watch the rest of the troop as we continued onwards towards our next battle. When and where exactly it would be... well, we would discover soon enough, but it was rare that we would know of it before it began.

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Author's Note: Well now, I think that's a good beginning. I don't think I've left too many clues in here as to who I'm pairing whom with... Ah, who'm I kidding? Anyway, I expect this to take one or two more chapters, at this rate. Please review! 


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Well, I had hoped for a few more reviews on this particular story. But then, I expected a lot more reviews for Erk's Aftermath than I have actually received. I appreciate the ones I have received for both fics, but I would've thought the Erk x Serra pairing would garner more interest. I guess I'll just have to attribute it to the fact that this site has been given so many stories with the same pairing that interest has waned. Ah well.

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It was during the battle at the Dragon's Gate that I saw her again. The pegasus knight that had captured my attention with her deadly grace and skill with a lance had just finished off a knight that had been about to bear down on me. I smiled in thanks to her and then noticed an archer behind a wall, aiming an arrow through a slit in it. My smile left and I raised a hand, calling out the enchantment I knew that would cause thunder to crash through the roof of the building and into the archer. I heard a scream and smiled slowly once more as I saw the arrow fall from where it had been pointing from. Perfect, I thought to myself, even as I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I glanced to the person that had grasped my shoulder and then the fingers gave a gentle squeeze. "My thanks, sir Erk." she said quietly, and then our tactician's voice came from far ahead. There were cavaliers attacking Merlinus' tent? With a groan, I turned and sure enough, there Merlinus was screaming like crazy, trying to keep our goods away from the men attacking him by somehow dodging several attacks. With a sigh, I ran off towards the tent as even more knights appeared, and the rush of air beside me told me that the pegasus knight had received the same orders from Mark.

I couldn't help but to smile as I saw her position herself in the air before one of the cavaliers, and then urged her steed forward, the pegasus diving and the lance in her hand striking the man off of his horse as he was struck perfectly. The man didn't move, but the horse ran off quickly. A pair of cavaliers turned to avenge their comrade- however, a bolt of magical Thunder took that number down to one. I smiled a little- I could tell I was getting stronger with every battle now. But, then I watched as the cavalier feinted at Fiora, only to dodge around her and rush at me!

There was no time to waste, I thought, as I got out my book. But no, it was too late even then to prepare a counter attack at this range. The lance that the rider carried was thrust out towards me, and I couldn't get out of the way quickly enough as I cried out in pain, a flash of cold striking through my breast, only to be replaced by a warmth that I knew couldn't be good. I staggered back, clutching the tome of Thunder in my hand still as I breathed out the enchantment to call upon the magical thunder again. It was mostly out of instinct that I brought my free hand down three times, a glowing rune appearing before me, and then it was gone as I twirled and brought my hand down once more.

There was no escape for this man, I thought to myself, as I watched the powerful bolt of Thunder crash down upon the cavalier that had attacked me. I smiled grimly, but then fell to me knees, shaking slowly. My body refused to acknowledge that it had been struck, even though there was now a large hole in my robes and blood seeping down on them from my body. It would soak right into the red color of my robe, I thought to myself, even as I dropped the book from my hand. I heard someone yell something, but I couldn't understand what was being said. My eyes closed, and then I couldn't see anymore, either.

---

When next I found myself waking, I was surprisingly warm. The first thing that I attempted to hear was any signs of battle that there might have been. Was the battle still being waged against Darin? Damn that old perverted man, I thought for a second. The second thing was, when I opened my eyes, quite a shock. It was dark out! There were a few candles lit beside where I had obviously been resting, though this wasn't quite the largest shock of all. One of our pegasus knights, little Florina, was watching over me.

I slowly moved to sit up, and then winced as I felt some pain from the wound I had received during the battle. The battle was obviously over by now... there was something in the air. Something not evil, but something else. Depression? There were no sounds of anyone's laughter or anger at jokes being played upon them (something I had grown accustomed to, thanks to Matthew). My hand went to where the wound had been, only to find that someone had bandaged me quite well. I gritted my teeth- please tell me that it hadn't been Serra. 

I looked to Florina, and I couldn't help but to smile. There was a beauty in the young knight that could not be denied- I could not any longer blame Sain for his attempts to get close to her. Of course, they all had ended in failure, but the fact remained that her cuteness had a way of entrancing some of the men in the group. I'd even caught Hector looking her way, from time to time... and I'd seen her watching him, too. She looked to be asleep, I thought to myself, as I saw the even movements of her chest up and down, her eyes closed and how her face was turned downwards slightly, chin pressed lightly against her breast. I then lay back down, and closed my eyes. Why was I so tired? It was so strange... or so I thought, as I heard footsteps bring someone into the tent that I was now resting in, and that Florina was watching me in.

The voice that I heard next was familiar to me. "Florina... hey, Florina, wake up." came Fiora's voice, and the lavender-haired pegasus knight fell from where she had been sitting cross-legged beside me. I barely managed to keep myself from smiling as I heard the younger knight crumble onto the ground before she let out a squeal and attempted to stand up quickly to make up for the clumsiness that she had just shown. I heard a stiffled giggle come from one of them- it was most likely, of course, Fiora had done that. "Florina?"

Florina replied meekly to her sister. I wouldn't doubt that she was looking to the ground with a face as red as my robes were, to tell the truth. "Yes, Fiora? What is it?" the younger knight asked. I was shocked, to the point of wanting to gasp, but I fought the urge. It was obvious that I was thought to be asleep by the two who stood over me. They probably were to speak of something of importance, and didn't want anyone else to hear. I couldn't help but to feel guilty, but I couldn't just pretend to wake up right now. Could I?

"Try not to get too far ahead of the line..." were Fiora's next words to her younger sister. A protective sibling? Obviously, she was speaking about when they were in battle, of course. Well, I cannot say I know what it is like to have one, but I couldn't help but to feel a little jealous towards the pegasus knights. They were actually family. All I had were foster parents who were of the most prominent house in Etruria. What would it be like to actually have a brother or sister? "You can always ride behind and back me up, you know..." Fiora continued, and again I had to fight the urge to respond to the sister's words myself. I really wanted to smile... it must be nice to have someone that was willing to fight beside you who happened to be family.

"Thanks, Fiora." came the younger knight's steady and quiet voice, and I nearly had to strain to hear her words. "But... I..." and her voice got even fainter for a moment. I heard a gentle gulp, and then she spoke in a clear and yet stronger and louder voice. "I have to do it my way. You can handle it out there alone, right?" she said, and there was a pause that made me think that her older sister had nodded at the question. "Well, I need to be sure that I can, too." she said, and I smiled a little bit, despite myself. Beautiful.

"Oh..." Fiora began, and I had to fight the urge I had to put an end to the slight argument, here and now. After all, hadn't Florina meant what she said? It sure sounded that way to me! "But I worry about you. When we were in training, you used to get so scared..." she commented, a thoughtful sound to the young woman's voice.

"Yeah, but I'm fine now." Florina quickly replied, which surprised me. I think it surprised her sister as well, from the forceful sound behind her words. What had come over her, I wondered, and I couldn't help but to wish I wasn't pretending to be asleep at this point.

"Really? But the Caelin knights are all men, aren't they? I just think of you, all timid and scared among them..." the elder girl said, and I couldn't blame her for those thoughts. After all, I had seen Florina's reaction to the Caelin knights back when I had traveled with Lady Lyndis and Mark, and Fiora's words struck quite truthfully. "So, Florina... You really don't mind it?" she asked now, and I could almost see Florina's face move side to side as she would deny that she minded the fact that she was among men. "Didn't they give you a hard time for being a woman? Now, if they did, I want you to let me know. Because I will tell them a thing or two..." and her voice trailed off, a hard edge to her words as I waited to hear a response from her little sister.

"I-I'm fine. Lady Lyndis took good care of me..." Florina said quietly, and then she also continued quickly, before her sister could retaliate in any way. "And everyone was really nice..." I heard her say, and then there was a most unpleasant sensation in the back of my throat. When was the last time I had had something to drink? I couldn't help it as I turned onto my side and curled up slowly, hands raising towards my face as a small fit of coughing made its way past my lips. My eyes opened slightly as I coughed, and I could tell that the two women were surprised at my sudden waking up.

"Oh? Well, I still worry." the older knight replied, even as both women smiled to each other before kneeling down beside me as I attempted to uncurl and sit up. I sighed softly, hands clutching at the wound that had been inflicted on me. It was gone, of course, by this time. "Shh... Sir Erk, are you feeling better now?" Fiora asked me, and I nodded slowly to her. The smile that the two sisters had shared was gone now as I looked to the women. Florina was watching me, seemingly afraid or still terminally shy as she always was.

"Yes, I feel much better now. What has happened? Why did no one wake me?" I asked of her, and both knights looked to the ground. Something terrible must have happened, I considered, as I watched the two. What? Did someone die? I felt my heartbeat begin to go faster as I began considering the terrible possibilities. Wait... Guy? Could my friend have died? No, he wasn't dead. The air had a much more depressing tone in it than the death of one of the warriors in the group could actually provide. Something else must have happened. The two knights remained silent, and I could tell that something awful had happened. What exactly, however, I wasn't sure of yet. "Wh... who died, Fiora? Florina?" I asked quietly now.

Fiora began to speak, but a clear voice from outside the tent came to answer my question instead. "Eliwood's father, the Marquess... he was killed in the Dragon's Gate, Erk." the voice answered, and then the flap of the tent was lifted as Lady Lyndis walked in. She wasn't exuding her usual energy that she was nearly always 'bursting' with, as Matthew had termed it. She was more... docile, now, I thought to myself. I was shocked- this was the man that we had been searching for! But, he had died? How did she know where he died, unless... I looked to the ground and sighed softly before shaking my head. 

"I... I see, milady. Thank you. How... how is Lord Eliwood?" I asked her, looking back up after a short moment. Lady Lyndis shook her head slowly, as if to tell me several things at once. That the man had no wish to be disturbed, I could easily understand. 

"He hasn't said a thing since his father died, Erk. I wish he had not had to know what this is like, for I already know the pain of losing a father. We will make Nergal pay for his dark deeds, with his life." she said, and then Florina was beside her as Lyn looked away. The look in her eyes... the sadness ran deep within her. Despite her energy and normally positive attitude, the young woman was still troubled by her past, by the death of her parents. I heard a soft sniffle from Lady Lyndis as Florina tried to cheer her up, giving her best friend a hug.

I looked to Fiora, who was watching me as I found her eyes, and I blinked in surprise as I felt a little it of heat rise to the surface of my cheeks. "Ah... Fiora? Is something the matter?" I asked her, and she shook her head quickly before rising to stand. Strange, I thought to myself, as she quickly walked from the tent. Why hadn't she said anything? Perhaps this tragedy had affected her as well... It certainly seemed to have affected one of the Lords of our group, after all. A call came from outside the tent, and I immediately reacted with a slight growl in the back of my throat.

The sound of that sickeningly sweet voice. I knew that sound, those words. Only three people in the camp could possibly be cheerful at all at a time like this, but only one of the three would actually call out my name like that. I glanced over to Florina and Lyn, who were quietly whispering with one another about something, and I sighed, looking down to the blanket that had been draped over me while I had been asleep. "Damn." was the only word I could say, as I drew the blanket up and covered myself quickly, lying back down.

My eyes closed as I heard the tent flap open up, and I breathed quietly, attempting to mimic being asleep as I heard soft footfalls make their way closer to where I 'rested.' I tensed quickly, though my mind attempted to make my body relax slowly... If I was right, then I knew I was reacting perfectly well to the threat at hand. The only problem was that it would ruin the illusion of being asleep. Fortunately, I heard a subdued voice come from elsewhere in the tent. The only person with a voice that spoke so quietly, that I knew, was Florina, and indeed it was she who came to my rescue this time.

"Umm... Serra?" she said, and I sighed very softly. I heard a shifting of feet as Serra likely turned to see the pegasus knight, and I smiled a little. I'll have to try harder to become Florina's friend, from now on. She was quite observant as to who I did not like speaking with or being around, obviously! I felt a hand on my shoulder- it wasn't Serra's hand, was it? If I could use anything more than a kitchen knife, I would perfer serving 'finger food' to a wyvern than be touched by her, even if I was injured or hurt in some way.

"Get some rest, Erk." came the voice, and I relaxed to the touch of the one that had said that to me. It had Lady Lyn's voice that reached my ear, even as Florina distracted the pink-haired woman from hell. How she was possibly a cleric of Saint Elimine was beyond me. The feeling of warmth left my shoulder as I rested there, and then the sound of footsteps faded as Lady Lyndis left the tent with Serra, Florina, and myself within it. I could hear Serra speaking with Florina, and I had to force myself to stay still as Serra attempted to list a number of things to Florina that she seemed to think that Florina admired her for. I could tell beforehand what Florina would admire such a brash girl for, but...

Fashion Sense? Breathtaking beauty? Please! She was wearing the robes of an Eliminean cleric, and her beauty paled in comparison with some of the other women in the group that Mark had managed to assemble. She didn't even match up well with Lady Louise, I thought to myself, and then I felt myself shiver a little, even underneath the blanket that I was wrapped up in. Serra had just said something about making the young pegasus knight like her in no time. Please no! Elimine save us all, if this cleric could ever manage to corrupt the young knight that much!

---

It was a few days later when we managed to get back to the shore that we had landed on Valor at. Dart and Legault led the way- Legault had been a part of the Black Fang for such a long while that he knew the lay-out of the island rather well, and Dart had a sense for the ocean as well. We didn't run into any more Black Fang forces- whatever had happened in the Dragon's Gate obviously had dealt a blow to the 'Fang as well. Why else would we not be attacked on our way from the island? It was when we arrived near the shore that Guy found me and we both began to dread that particular problem that was beginning to make itself known to us both as we watched the waves.

The rowboats were on their way, thanks to a signal fire that I had lit- the wood was so wet thanks to the rain the past few days that only magic could have lit the firewood. We waited now, Guy and I speaking with one another for a short while before he went elsewhere along the beach to practice his swordplay. Alone now, and thankfully hidden from sight at the moment, I sat on a piece of driftwood while attempting to relax. Soon enough, I would probably lose whatever I would eat once we set sail for Badon again.

Dammit... I hate boats. I sighed softly as I looked across the water and to the ship, where I could barely make out the rowboats coming to shore. I hadn't felt too good on them before, and I could only hope that the effect of the seasickness would be lessened this time around. I looked to the sky, clouded over with dark rain clouds, and wondered if it would rain soon, or if it would just taunt us at this point. There was little for me to do now except dread the passage back to the mainland- once there, hopefully I will never get on a ship again! My thoughts then wandered, going over the events of the past few days.

I had had to cook the other day, along with Lowen, for the troop. Lowen and Mark were the official cooks of the camp, really, though several of us were always stuck working with them so that there would be enough food to go around to everyone else in the group. There was not that much game on Valor, but somehow we managed to find enough to keep everyone fed well enough. Eliwood walked ahead of everyone, staying to himself- Lady Lyndis, Lord Hector, and even Ninian remained close to the front, to keep an eye on our young leader. Mark was there as well, remaining close to the front, but of course he was carefully protected, as per Eliwood's orders.

I closed my eyes for but a moment before I shivered a little, a breeze kicking up a little sand from the dunes on the beach. When my eyes opened, I saw the red-haired lord staring out over the ocean, in the direction of Badon and Fargus' ship, the Davros. What could I say to the man? Should I say anything at all? Indeed, there was so very little that could be said to Lord Eliwood, and I knew little of what could be said that might help him to feel better. This was something that no book could teach someone, nothing that could be simply taught without experience to allow me to know what to do. With heavy steps, I stood and walked over to our group's leader.

He was so lost in thought that he did not even realize that I was now standing beside him after a moment or two. I glanced to him, dark strands of purple hair streaming along my cheeks. His cheeks were wet- he had been weeping. No jesting, I told myself, as I watched the young lord gaze out over the open sea that we would soon be sailing upon. That much was obvious. What was I doing? This was something that none of the others had dared do yet- as far as I knew, not even Lady Lyndis nor Lord Hector had attempted to get close to Lord Eliwood since we had buried his father. And then, I know that I should not have done, but I did. I spoke to him.

"Milord... forgive me." I began. I looked straight ahead to the ocean now as well, aware that he was now looking to me. But before he could speak, I continued. "I am sorry for the loss of your father. I knew little of him and never met him, but..." and I swallowed slowly. Eliwood didn't say anything, watching me still as I gazed out over the waves. What was I saying? "I cannot do anything to ease your pain, milord. I came before only to provide Lady Priscilla my services, but since then I have come to think of most everyone in this troup as a friend. This includes you, milord. I hope you can find your peace... but remember, there are still others who care for you here. Speak with them, if you can. I know there is little I can say or do to help, but if you need someone to listen, milord... You know where you can find me." I told him, and then I turned.

I was completely unaware that my cheeks were very red as I walked away from Lord Eliwood, and back towards camp. My magic was all I really knew... that, and Serra's personality, anyway. What was I doing, attempting to help Lord Eliwood outside of any sort of battle purpose? There was very little, if anything, that I could actually do to help anyone who had been hurt so badly. Priscilla and even Serra would be better choices to have listen to someone's problems. I was simply a mage, not all that powerful really, that was attempting to learn more of the world through trial and error.

I was greeted back in camp by, of all people, Matthew. "Well now Erk, looks like you've had quite the day, eh? Should be even better later, don't you think?" he asked, and I shuddered. Obviously, the thief was referring to my last outting on the ship before we had even made it to this isle. He chuckled softly and shook his head slowly. "Nice try with Lord Eliwood, Erk. But, I don't think that he'll be feeling any better until we're off this accursed island. I know I won't be..." he trailed off, and I nodded slightly. I'd heard from others that a woman named Leila had been found dead in the forest not too far from here , and that Matthew had cared for her a lot.

"You might be right, Matthew." I told the thief, and simple smiled a little before moving back towards where Lowen was drafting people to help with the food preparations. We'd have a meal before actually going to sea again, perhaps even persuade Captain Fargus to join us for some red meat instead of the normal white meat that pirates were known to practically live off of. We knew that, with traveling for so long the past few days without very little time to stop and rest a while, that there was need for a break of at least the afternoon. One would be hard pressed, in this weather, to determine the time of day that it actually was.

Then I heard a familiar voice. And then another voice that was speaking with the first one. I looked around, near the 'kitchen' tent that had been set up, and found Sain speaking with Rebecca. "... We knights are honor-bound to protect fair maidens..." he said, and I rolled my eyes before raising a hand up for my palm to meet my forehead as I sighed. There goes the green-knight once more, I thought to myself, walking away as Rebecca replied that she was no one's maiden. Good for her... She was a little younger than I am, I remembered. Sain was what, nearing twenty years old? What good could possibly come of such an attempt to woo a younger girl?

"I see that you find his attempts as amusing as I do, sir Erk." came a familiar voice, and I chuckled softly as I looked up to dame Fiora. Then I nodded as I saw the bemused smile on her face and grinned in return. She just winked and looked to where the wound I had been given back at the Dragon's Gate had been. "And I also see that you are feeling much better now. Does it still bother you at all?" she asked me, and I had to shake my head at her question.

"No, not at all, thank you, Fiora." I replied, smiling a little bit. Was she being protective... of me, perhaps? I still had that hole in my robe and shirt thanks to the hit that had knocked me out- one thing I was not all that capable of doing, unfortunately, was sewing. I blinked and looked to where she was looking, a bit of red appearing on my cheeks as I heard her chuckle lightly. "What is it?" I asked her, looking back up to the green haired woman who was standing in front of me.

"Oh, nothing at all, sir Erk. I am just a little surprised that you have not fixed that little tear in your robe yet, 'tis all." she replied, and I sighed softly before shaking my head. Of course, she would be surprised. I was a mage after all, and was supposed to know all sorts of things, not just magic. But, it is magic that I knew and little else, and most anyone in the troop knew that. Only the newest recruits, such as she, and someone like Bartre (whose stupidity surpasses anyone I've ever seen before) would not realize quickly that I did not know as much as I would have liked.

"I don't... really know how to sew." I said quietly, looking back to the ground. I knew it involved needle and thread, but I carried neither with me, and I was not about to ask one of the girls here. That usually led to dealings with the pink haired one, and that very thought caused me to shudder. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up to see Fiora standing closer, smiling softly to me. What?

"I see... you truly are like my little sister. Here, now. Take off your cloak and shirt, and allow me to fix them for you." she said, that same gentle smile on the young knight's face. My face flushed red once again at the sound of being compared with Florina in such a regard. Was I really that timid? No... Or at least, I don't think I am. Fiora seemed to see the disappointment and confusion in my eyes, and she just grinned slightly. "Well, perhaps I shall come by later to find you and get at least your robe. You may catch a cold if you were to go without anything on otherwise, I should think." she told me, and I nodded slowly. I'd be able to live with that.

"Ah... well, thank you, dame Fiora." I said, still blushing as I watched her smiling face. How was I supposed to react to such attention, I wondered to myself as she moved to turn away... and then she seemed to shrug and turn around, quickly pulling me a bit closer. The sudden movement caught me off-guard, and I stumbled towards her as she must have expected, for then my cloak was off my body and in her hands.

"I shall have this fixed up for you in a short while, sir Erk." she said to me, giving me a pat on the back before wandering off towards the tents that had been set up for the women of the group. I just watched, blankly staring after her retreating form as I shivered from the cold of the air surrounding me. I just nodded slowly and looked around after that, wondering if anyone had actually seen that. It did not seem as if anyone had been paying attention to us, fortunately... at least, that's what I thought until I saw Kent and Sain talking. Sain was looking over at me, possibly as if he had been watching both myself and Fiora... oh great. There would be rumors flying all about camp about as soon as he was finished speaking with Caelin's commanding knight. 

With that in mind, I beat a hasty retreat towards the shore again, passing Matthew again along the way. He gave me a strange look, and I couldn't blame him- we had known each other for quite a while, really, and it was certainly rare that I was ever without my red cloak. I found my way back to the same place I had been before, and seated myself on the piece of driftwood as I gazed out over the ocean once more. My arms wrapped around myself, hands at my sides as I huddled there to try and keep warm. I didn't want to be anywhere near the fire right now- most of the troop would be found there, after all, and going there without my cloak on would likely arouse suspicion and wonder among most of the people that knew me well. Besides... that would be where Sain would begin his rumor-making, most likely, for that same reason.

---

It was less than an hour later when I was found huddled on the driftwood by a rather unlikely person. I hadn't really spoken with her since leaving the Dragon's Gate, actually, but when I found my view of the ocean cut off by a body, I raised one of my hands to my hair and swept my fingers through it as I saw who it was. Rather, both of them, at least. "You see, I am quite able to track down your man, Priscilla." came Lyndis' voice, and I chuckled softly. Her man? If Lyndis had said that to Serra, I would likely have attacked... I would never be able to hit the swordswoman from the plains, of course, but the act would have made me feel better at the least.

"Yes, so you are, milady Lyndis. My thanks, for your help." she said to her, and Lyn smiled to the red-haired girl gently before looking at me sternly. I was surprised, she had never looked at me like that before... I had seen that look in her eyes only when directed at Sain, actually. What had I done to deserve that look? Then she smiled slowly, as if recognizing my reaction. Priscilla just stood there- young and pretty, she was also rather naive, too. She watched me, as if needing to say something to me, but probably not sure about doing so with Lady Lyndis nearby.

"You should be near the fire, Erk. I know you like to be by yourself, but you are not wearing your cloak, and I can tell that you are quite cold." she said to me, and then she lifted up a package that I hadn't seen under her arm a moment ago. I smiled to her, and nodded slightly in response as I saw the carefully folded blanked in her hands. "Here, wrap yourself up in this, Erk. Priscilla would like to speak with you, so I think I shall go find myself a sparring partner... have you seen Guy about?" she asked, and I nodded, pointing her down the beach in the direction that Guy had gone in about an hour ago from now. "My thanks, Erk. Keep warm, now." she told me, smiling before she headed off down the beach, leaving me with my young employer.

Priscilla just smiled a little at me, waiting until Lyndis was far enough away that she would not hear what the young girl was gonig to say. I, on the other hand, was a little cold as I wrapped myself in the blanket that had been brought out to me, and not truly in the mood to be very patient, unfortunately. "Lady Priscilla, are you alright?" I asked her, smiling slightly to the girl as I motioned for her to sit beside me, if she wished. With a smile on her face still, she shook her head demurely.

"Ah... yes, Erk, I am fine. Thank you, for checking on me." she said to me in reply, and I blinked. Had she not something more that she had wished to say to me? Hard to tell, really... Ever since joining with Eliwood's troop, she had been staying near the man called Raven that had joined us in the battle after we had joined Eliwood. I knew of her mission to find her brother, and the man certainly retained features that were very recognizable in Priscilla. Both seemed rather stubborn, both had red hair, and they just seemed... well, natural, when beside one another.

"Not at all. That is my duty, after all." I replied, and smiled still as I felt warmth begin to build beneath the blanket. "You... are not tired?" I asked, my thoughts suddenly changing my those of taking care of the woman who had hired my services. I had not particularly been neglecting her, had I? I haven't been thinking solely of her lately, of course, or of simply protecting her. After all, Mark now had my services as well, and since she left the tactician of the group to provide my orders, I hadn't been around her all that much. We often were on seperate ends of the battlefield, after all.

"No..." she said slowly, and I inwardly winced. Oops! I must have come up with that out of nowhere, in her mind. Certainly true, I considered, and smiled a little as she continued. "No, I'm quite fine, really." she replied, and I nodded slightly. Something in her voice, I thought to myself. More than simply fine, it seemed. She didn't seem to have the urgency that she'd had at the beginning of our quest. Well, that was quite understandable, considering the consequences. We were dealing with a man that wanted to bring Dragons back to Elibe. Searching for a long-lost brother, though important, must be set aside when one is speaking about the fate of the world, after all.

But that didn't stop me. "Your feet are not weary? Your shoulders, are they not tense?" I asked her, out of instinct more than anything else. What was I doing? She was not one of my previous employers, a willful child that required dealing with in the most mundane of fashions. The young child had always complained, and since I would have been to blame if he was uncomfortable, I needed to take care of him in those fashions. Priscilla, for her part, watched me with skeptical eyes- thankfully, she was not looking at me as if fully doubting my sanity.

"They're fine, really." was her reply, and I nodded slightly. But no, I continued to talk. And in the process, I could see her eyes as they widened at my questions.

"And your belly, is it full? Your throat... dry?" I asked, and she shook her head to both things. "Are you sleepy? Or bored?" I again asked her, before she could speak to reply in her own defense. I blinked as I saw her look to the ground, as if attempting to collect herself. I didn't say anything more, waiting for her to respond now as I watched the pale-skinned maiden before look from the sandy beach and back to my face again after a moment.

"Erk?" she asked, and I cringed again. Damn, I overdid it, didn't I? At least I could recognize such when it happened, I considered, and nodded slowly to the troubador.

"Ah..." I started, and then blinked again before looking to the ground myself, my cheeks a little red from the embarassment I felt. "Yes, sorry. Hard to break old habits." I told her before I looked back up to her. Well, at least she wasn't viewing me with suspicion now, I thought, and gave her a sheepish smile, which she returned in much the same manner. I could see a question in her eyes, though... "My last lord was a willful child, you see. He would call me over the slightest things... That is the past now, though... of course."

Pricilla nodded, her red hair bobbing up and down alongside her cheeks as she looked a little thoughtful for a second or two. "I see..." she began, and then cast a glance skyward before letting herself look at me directly again. "Should... I be asking you to do more, then?" she asked me now, to which I could only smile softly and shake my head slowly to her in response. She was a good girl... but, as of right now, there truly was no need of her to ask me to do more than I have been, of course.

"Oh, no. No, this is just fine." I replied, and she nodded as I shivered, feeling more warmth within the blanket now as she watched me uneasily. I could tell that my overbearing questions upon her had likely done something to her view of me, to tell the truth- something that I didn't need to happen. She nodded once more afterwards and then wandered off back towards camp, leaving me to watch the water once more.

"Ah... I really can't say anything to girls without messing things up, can I?" I said aloud, once I was certain that she was far enough away that she wouldn't be able to hear me. What I didn't know, however, was that there was a figure on the hill behind me that had listened to our exchange. There was a small giggle that I could just barely hear, as I looked up to the sky, I saw a shadow that slipped away from my sight. When I blinked, it was gone, and I turned around to face the small hill. There wasn't anyone there. With a shrug, I closed my eyes, and relaxed. Come what may... even seasickness. I needed to figure out how to speak to the girls in this troop outside of battle.

That was when I made the decision to speak with Sain while on the boat about it.

---

Author's Note: Well now... I know I'm not progressing very quickly here. I've done away with the normal 'support-based' pairings, however, by now, thankfully. What do you guys think? Please review! 


	3. Chapter 3: Finale!

Author's Note: I'm taking this time to thank the people who have reviewed this fic so far. It has been fun working on this in Erk's point of view. I read something that was brought to my attention the other day- Ivanfanatic's Bio, basically. It had an interesting note on there (the gist of it was that everything that deals with Erk's point of view during the journeys of the game was simply a rip-off of her Diaries of Erk and such), so I have to admit that I toyed with the idea of ending the continuation of this fic.

She had a good point though. I certainly don't have the number of reviews I might've hoped for... but those of you who have reviewed, thanks. I'm happy for the reviews that I have received, especially since I've updated several other ancient fics of mine (ancient meaning that I hadn't done anything with 'em for about 2 years or so), and received only one or two reviews between the three updates. Ivanfanatic has since changed her Bio, which I am glad to say is now much better. Anyway, on with the story. And Ivanfanatic, if you read this, I would be honored if you reviewed this fic. Even if it is a 'rip-off'. lol

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"Damn, it's hot..." I muttered, sitting in the shade outside of a tent. Whose tent? Did it matter? It was a good placement to provide shade from the blazing hot sun overhead, and I wasn't the only one to have found it to be so useful. There was a black robed Shaman beside me, and we were both sitting on our packs. As usual, the shaman was stuck in a book, but it seemed even he was having trouble keeping his nose in the book in his hands. I looked over to him- yep. Black robes, black hood (though he isn't wearing it right now). Intense sunlight. One didn't have to be a genius or scholar to realize that he had to be extremely hot underneath the heavy robes.

"Canas... good luck. I'm going to see if I can get us something to drink, alright?" I informed my colleague, to which he simply nodded as I walked away. I could see the sweat bead on his brow- I somehow doubted that he would be feeling like talking at this time. Something about dehydration, I think I remembered reading a while ago. Or something like that. The camp had been set up not too long ago, and pretty much everyone was feeling the heat. Despite what Canas had been going on about, I certainly couldn't tell as to why the Nabata desert was supposed to be a paradise for all kinds of magic users.

Guy was suffering about as little as anyone else was, it seemed, as I saw him practicing just outside of camp. He was being watched by that silent mercenary... Rath, that's his name. I'd met him a little over a year ago, back when Serra, that pink haired woman from the bowels of hell (or this desert... damn, it was getting difficult to differentiate!), forced me into joining Lady Lyndis. At least that had been a learning experience, and this was becoming one as well.

"Erk! Oh Erk! Where are you, Erk?" came that shrill, high pitched voice that made me want to hide in the nearest tent. I shivered slowly and quickly looked around. Where was the voice coming from? The tents made all sorts of places for the person looking for me to be coming from. Damn! She was definitely heading towards me from the center of the camp... but from what direction? There were several tents nearby, but I was now too far away to hide beside Canas, and the two Sacaens were oblivous to anything but training or caring for their equipment right now.

"Damn. Not her, anyone but her!" I muttered to myself, and then gritted my teeth. When one wishes to hide quickly, one cannot afford to be picky, I thought. With that in mind, I headed for the nearest tent and opened the flap. "I apologize for the intrusion. Would it be too much to ask if I might stay here for a moment or two?" I asked as I barged into the tent, and then I froze in place. The tent flap behind me swung into place as I saw... a sight I never expected to see.

---

The first place I could remember ever, and I certainly mean ever, saw a woman's body. A book in the library at Lord Pent's house in Reglay. He had told me that it would be an important thing to see, that knowing what to look for when it came to appearances. A person in a cloak could hide themselves from being identified, unless a person knew what to look for. Who knew that such a memory would come rushing back to me all of a sudden? I'd been stunned when I saw that girl's body the first time, the one that had been drawn (and badly, I must admit).

---

That picture superimposed upon the girl I saw now, and then faded away as I felt the heat in my cheeks pick up. As if I wasn't overheated before, I couldn't help myself now. The person before me was just as shocked as I was, obviously, as she stood there. Wha... What in the world? Why was she naked? Saint Elimine... it must've been fate. That, or the devil in pink was possibly in cahoots with that tactician to force me into embarassing situations. Then a voice came from behind, the flap opening and flooding the inside of the tent with sunlight. "Sister, I got some water..." came the voice, a soft voice that belonged to someone I thought I knew fairly well.

The look on the mostly nude woman's face before me was priceless. It was one of surprise, a bit of anger and even more of embarassment. I could see tears in her eyes, and now I felt myself get even hotter as a result of this. My throat was dry and I felt my rational thought begin to escape me. And then, my eyes slowly began to close as I felt gravity take over. The last thing I remember was hearing two thumps upon the ground, a soft shriek, and then darkness took over my sight.

A while later ---

"Oh..." I groaned slowly, and my sight began to return. Thought processes were, of course, slowed due to the heat of the desert air and the muddled condition of my mind at this point. Where am I? What had happened? The heat in the air quickly reminded me as to what had happened. "Oh, the heat..." I muttered, and slowly I moved to sit up. I felt a hand on each of my shoulders, which caused me to open my eyes quickly. "What the?"

"Settle, Erk. Sheesh, you certainly are much like my little sister." the voice said, and my eyes began to focus on... green hair. A gentle, somewhat pale face (slightly tanned at the moment) that held a look of concern in her eyes and a weak smile on her face. Then my face was aflame, or felt like it was, as the memory flooded back. I'd seen her, didn't I? She was fully clothed now, though. I looked to the ground beside me and then my eyes went wide- what in the hell? If my cheeks could become anymore heated and red at this point, they would certainly be, as I saw something that shocked me to the core.

It was little Florina! She'd been laid out beside me, for some reason. Then that came back as well. "Um... did she faint, Fiora?" I asked quietly, looking up to her sheepishly. The elder pegasus knight nodded, and then smiled again to me. I groaned softly and then shook my head, one hand rising up to my brow to clutch there, as if I had a headache.

"Yes, she certainly did, though I would think that I should have done such before she had done so. After all, she was not the one without being fully clothed..." she replied, a blush growing on her cheeks as she said this. I looked down and nodded slowly, having to agree with her assessment of the situation. Then I blinked- where was my cloak and shirt? It was still quite warm, but I was not quite as hot as I should have been, were I still wearing my clothes.

"Oh..." Fiora said, echoing my comment from a few moments ago. She must've seen that I realized that my shirt was off, of course, and I looked back up to her as I drew my knees up a bit. Wait... I had no need to hide myself. It wasn't like I was completely naked, after all. "My apologies, sir Erk. I thought it would be best to use the water that Florina had brought to cool you both down a bit. Well, what little was left after she had fainted dead away, anyway." she told me, and I nodded slowly. Logical, I considered.

"I see... Thank you... and, I apologize as well, Fiora." I began to say, to which I felt a pair of fingers upon my lips. My lips closed in this way, and I looked up to her eyes to see what she was doing. She was smiling softly, though still blushing as she shook her head. Ah. So, she didn't wish to speak of this unfortunate incident? Or did she not want to speak about it right now? It was difficult to tell what went on in the minds of the women in this camp, afterall.

"No worries, sir Erk. I heard Serra outside, and I thought that you would be going somewhere to try and hide. I was quite surprised when you barged in here, though. Not as surprised as Florina, it seems..." she said, trailing off as she grinned slightly. We both looked to her little sister, who seemed to be stirring now. She was pretty cute as she lay there beside me, I must admit. Her armor had been taken off- now, she looked every bit the pure and shy maiden that she certainly was.

"Shall I be going?" I asked now, quietly, to which Fiora nodded slowly. Where was my shirt and cloak, though? I could not go outside without them- unlike Bartre and Dorcas, my pale body would likely burn before tanning at all. I smiled softly before I looked away from the younger pegasus knight, casting my gaze about to try and locate my clothing. Fiora noticed my looking around and shook her head slowly before reaching beside her and tossing a folded up shirt and my cloak in my direction, both of which I caught and immediately slid on.

"Hurry now. I do not wish for Florina to be subjected to such a shock again, my friend." she said, and I blinked in surprise as I looked up to the older knight. She had just called me friend? I nodded to her once, slowly, before smiling in return to her. It was certainly nice to be thought of as a friend, I thought to myself, as my cloak slid into place and I latched it about my neck before walking towards the tent flap and looked back to her. "Do not worry... Serra is off with Sain at the moment, sir Erk." she told me, and I grinned a bit. Those two always did take a while when they were speaking with one another.

"Please, dame Fiora. Call me Erk. I am not an employer or lord, simply a mage attempting to better himself. I do not truly deserve any titles." I told her, and when I saw the nod, I brushed aside the tent flap easily enough and stepped outside of the tent. Once outside, I breathed deeply of the heated air and then coughed a little bit. Damn... if I were anywhere else, I'd be happy to be outside a tent for once. But no, Nabata truly took the pleasure of cold air and wrenched it away as if it had never even been imagined before in one's life.

---

It was truly a blessing after our meeting with the Archsage Athos. Somehow, he teleported everyone across the distance between Nabata and Pherae! It was a wonderful feeling, going from almost overwhelmingly hot to a nice, cool breeze and gentle weather in the matter of a single instant. The man had been studying magic of all types for about a thousand years, no less. It was only a small wonder that he knew a spell that could transport others across such a large distance. And now, for the first time in quite a while, no one in the troop would be sleeping in a tent.

No, for we were in Lord Eliwood's home, castle Pherae. Instead of tents, we all had rooms. Oh, there weren't enough for everyone, but with only two people to a room, it was certainly more spacious than a tent (and a much better surrounding than a desert, too!). But... where was I now? I looked about slowly. Hallway after hallway was filled with our people, but where was the library that Lord Eliwood had told me of the other day? Ever since my oafish attempt at being friend with him, he'd told me much of himself and his family, as well as his home. I didn't mind listening- I had told him that I would, after all.

Besides, learning about him allowed me to learn more things about nobility than I would have thought I would learn before now. Even with watching Lord Pent and Lady Louise (both of whom, I must admit, are not truly the best of examples when it came to lords and ladies), I never really learned much about how nobility must act. Lord Eliwood told me much of such things. During our conversations, Dame Fiora would come by every so often, usually glancing to Lord Eliwood as we conversed. I couldn't help but to think that she was, for some reason, interested in the young lord. I could tell that it would be an interesting, if not unusual, pairing for a lord to be with a mercenary from Ilia.

I shrugged and began walking down the hallway. I at least knew that this hallway led to the dining hall, and perhaps from there I might meet someone that could direct me to the library. We had only one day in this castle before Mark and the lords would be ordering us towards Bern, and so I intend to make the most of it by studying as much as I can. But then, as usually seems to happen... I was sidetracked as I heard Dame Fiora's voice from just beyond the hallway, and in the dining hall itself. 

"Kent, what a coincidence. I was just looking for you..." I heard Fiora say. I set myself against the wall, relaxing a bit, as I listened in on the conversation. If anyone asked, I'd just tell them I was lost, I thought to myself, even as I continued to listen in on the two. So, she was with Kent? Out of all the men of Caelin's knights, I did like him the most. He was certainly dedicated to his duty, after all.

"Actually, it's about this army..." Kent said, and I could only wonder just what the man meant by his words. "Do you ever feel that some here lack proper moral grounding?" he asked her, and I shook my head slowly. Strange words for a knight of Caelin, I thought to myself. Though, he was rather right about it, now that I thought about several of the people who had joined us. Quite often, there'd been noises coming from a certain tent- the tactician probably knew more about the occupants than even I would care to know, but I knew that our tactician wasn't about to get involved. Lord Pent and Lady Louise did value their privacy, after all.

"Yes, the same thought has occurred to me." Fiora replied, to which I blinked and then looked up towards the ceiling. Strange... Very strange. "As a hired lance, I thought it not my place to speak, however." she said as well to the knight of Caelin. She was speaking somewhat slowly, as if considering his words. Or, perhaps, because she felt guilty for some reason?

"Camaraderie in the field is one thing..." I heard Kent's voice again, and I couldn't help but to stifle a chuckle before it got too out of hand. "But the men and women in the camp are altogether too... intimate..." he said, and I rolled my eyes. Obviously, the knight was not thinking long enough or hard enough on this issue. We all went by rules set by the tactician and the lords. Intimacy was allowed, if the people who shared it wished it, because any one of us could die at any time, from a mistake or simple bad luck.

Fiora's reply was slow in coming once more. "Indeed." she said, somewhat flatly. Perhaps Kent had accidentally hit a sore spot with the pegasus knight? It certainly sounded that way, but without seeing how she was reacting, there was very little chance for me to find out, simply by listening in. "Their minds are not focused on their duties..." she said, and I smiled slowly. Neither was hers, it seemed, and I stepped out from behind the corner I'd been hiding behind. Matthew would likely have been proud of me from my eavesdropping, I thought, and I opened my eyes as I continued into the dining hall, stopping just within to look about.

The conversation between the two died as I became known to the 'morally pure duo', and I looked over to them with a look of surprise on my face, as if I hadn't expected them to be there. "I apologize, sir Kent, dame Fiora." I said slowly, smiling to the two politely. Oh, did I interrupt something? I certainly did, and I knew it.

"It is quite alright, Erk. Is there anything that we can do for you?" Kent asked me politely enough. There was a hint of anger in his voice though- perhaps at being interrupted in the middle of a conversation? I couldn't blame him too much, and I looked to him and then to Fiora, who was watching me with a strange look in her eyes. I looked back to sir Kent and shook my head slowly. It was unlikely that they could help me find the library, but it never hurt to ask.

"Perhaps... would either of you happen to know the location of Castle Pherae's library? Lord Eliwood never did get around to the details as to where it is at exactly while we were talking." I asked the two, and both shook their heads slowly. I sighed- disappointed, yes, but not exactly surprised by their admissions of not knowing where the library was. I should have followed Canas earlier, I thought to myself, and then shrugged as I smiled to them both and bowed lowly. "My thanks anyway, my friends." I told them, and then headed down the hall towards another hallway. Towards the kitchen, perhaps? Well, perhaps I could find someone there who could direct me, I wondered, even as I heard their conversation continue.

"At least the younger members of this army are polite and focused on their duties, are they not?" I heard Kent say to Fiora, and I had to force myself not to laugh. Focused on our duties? I was focused on developing my magical powers, and since that included defeating the enemies we must face... Well, of course I would do it. Battling in an army was a wonderful way to gain experience, Lord Pent had told me.

"Yes, some do seem to be just that. Though, sometimes I do wonder." was the response given to that comment, and I grinned slowly. Well, at least Fiora seemed to harbor some misgivings about we 'younger' members of the army. Those who were around my age were often kept well-guarded, whether or not our tactician thought of it that way. We were never left alone... we were always 'chaperoned,' I believe the word is. I smiled as I walked on... perhaps something interesting would make itself known soon, or at least someone who knew where the library was might appear.

I heard a pair of voices a little further along the hallway- strange, they did sound familiar! I stopped as I came near a corner and peeked around to see who they were, and I couldn't help but to smile softly and blush as I saw Florina, Rebecca, and Ninian speaking quietly with one another. Rebecca and Flroina were giggling to themselves as Ninian blushed softly- the pale girl with light green hair was quite the beauty, even I knew, and from my conversations with Lord Eliwood, I had heard that they'd been talking with each other for quite a while now. Ninian never did get close with very many in the troop- a few of the girls, such as Lady Lyndis and Florina, Lord Eliwood, and I'd even seen her near that large man from Nabata... Hawkeye.

I smiled as I walked past the hallway now, and continued on my way. Or at least, that's what I thought I would do, until I heard a voice that made me stop. "Erk, don't go that way. You-know-who is down there." I heard from a gentle voice, and I blinked as I turned around and walked to the hallway that I'd passed. Florina had told me that, and her flushed face made it evident that it had taken quite a bit of strength to even say that to me quietly. I smiled to the young pegasus knight and bowed to her politely, her friends watching me. Rebecca looked about ready to laugh aloud and even Ninian seemed ready to giggle at least. Florina watched me for a second before looking away with downcast eyes.

"Thank you, dame Florina." I said to her. I should have guessed that the pink-haired devil would be in that direction- she was probably even waiting for me at the library, I thought to myself, and sighed softly. Florina picked up on that and giggled a little bit- shy though she was, at least she was being courteous and very thoughtful. Damn. What now should I do?

"Of course, Erk... I would not want you to, ah..." she began, and then her face turned red as she thought about something. I blushed as well and hurried back, the way I came, as I realized what she'd been about to say. Crazy girl, I thought to myself. Rebecca loved gossip! Why would she even say anything like that, to even pique the archer's interest? "Elimine, please, lend your strength to Florina and do not allow her to speak a word of what had happened in Nabata to anyone!" I said to myself as quick strides took me back towards the dining hall. I didn't need rumors flying about me within the troop. It was enough that Sain did most of the rumor making and was the butt of many jokes and rumors as well, after all. I didn't need that kind of attention, either.

---

It was a few days later when I was called aside by Lord Eliwood during our march towards Bern. I was a bit surprised at the sudden summons- he'd been spending most of his time with Ninian or with Lord Hector, after all. I came up beside Lord Eliwood, wondering just what he had in mind to speak with me about. I watched our tactician walk away as I came up closer, and I groaned softly as I predicted the worst. Was it at all possible that I was about to be sent out as a messenger boy to someone like Bartre? I'd just as likely attempt to burn him on the spot than say more than hello or my name to him and grunt.

"Erk, thank you for coming over... our tactician has a small job for you." Lord Eliwood informed me, and I couldn't hide the sigh that had been building up for just this moment. Why was I able to see this coming? Lord Pent must have taught me fairly well... he and Lady Louise, that is. But then Lord Eliwood continued on, much to my surprise. "Here... give this to dame Fiora, if you will." he told me, and handed a small item to me. I took the item and looked to it- ah, spoils from one of our earlier battles, I recognized. An elysium whip, no less!

"To... dame Fiora? I suppose I can do that, if she would come down from the heights." I replied, a small smile on my face. So, our grand tactician had decided to provide her a mystical item to enhance her abilities, and grant her the title of Falcoknight? Who was I to deny that he was likely correct in doing so? She was certainly worthy of the title and the gift, I knew, as Eliwood sent me away with a small smile. Perhaps I should have been worried about that smile, I considered, though the thought remained in the back of my mind as I walked slower, staying near to the end of the line.

I heard that annoyingly piercing voice pass right by me as I remained out of her sight. To avoid Serra was a thing of divine intervention, after all, though to hear her voice was inevitable by any. I smiled as I watched Bartre follow up behind her, hitting his own skull with a somewhat large flat rock that he must have picked up somewhere... funny, I would likely take up the same sort of 'mental punishment' as he did, if I had lacked the wisdom to escape the sound of that shrieking woman's voice. It didn't take long until I was at the end of the line and among the somewhat slower members of our group- Wil, sir Kent, Canas, and our resident married couple.

Lord Pent and Lady Louise, I considered for a moment. I had long been in their care, learning the art of using anima magic and attempting to learn whatever else I possibly could. They were often out and about, but whenever they were at house Reglay they would dote on me so much... But now I knew that they had not doted upon me, but actually cared for my well-being. A fine line between the two, I realized, as I watched them walk a bit faster. Their 'son' was growing up, I thought, and I smiled softly as I fell behind even the rest of the group. Even Dorcas was now in front of me, the silent axe-fighter from Bern... well, originally. I'd heard a rumor that after joining with Lady Lyndis, he had moved to Pherae instead with his wife. What was her name? Oh yes, a plain woman but rather charming despite her injured leg. Natalie.

"Um..." I heard a voice from my left, and I looked over to see Florina, who was blushing softly as she brought her steed to land on the ground carefully. For once, it was a good landing, I saw, as she brought her pegasus into a slow walk beside me. "H... hi... er, um..." she stammered, and I smiled gently to her, my cheeks a little red as well as I shook my head. She never would get over her fear of men, would she? That would be rather a bad thing, in my opinion... Florina was certainly the kind of maiden that any reputable man would like to have as a wife.

I blinked as I thought of such a thing, and then looked ahead before replying to the young, innocent maiden of a knight. "Yes, dame Florina?" I asked her, looking to her slowly as I smiled a little. My cheeks still burned, but I did not mind at all. Truly, the man that she could open her heart to and discard all fear from would be a lucky man. I just hoped that her older sister did not view me in the same manner, for I would hope that I could speak to my comrades, man or woman, despite my fears as to what they might think about what I might say.

"Ah... no... noth-nothing, Erk." she replied, and then I watched her as she took off again. She seemed to speak to me... well, try to speak to me at least, more than she did with most of the other men in the company. Why was that, exactly? Did she like me more than some of the others? No... I had seen her listen to Wil on more than one occassion. I had even seen her speak with him in something almost actually somewhat like a conversation! Just what was the young pegasus knight attempting to tell me?

"Ah, sir Erk! Why did my sister just fly away with such haste from you, hm?" I heard Fiora ask as she came up close, a gust of wind causing my hood to fall from over my head, exposing purple tresses to the air as I looked up and to her. She landed on my right side now- opposite from where her sister had been, mind you. "I trust that you did not embarass her, for if you did, I shall have to deal with you." she said, and I could tell that she was teasing from the small grin that she gave me. I smiled amiably in return and nodded slightly at her words.

"Now, why would I ever do such a thing, dame Fiora? Surely you trust me more than you might trust Sain?" I asked her in return, in the same jovial tone that she had used with me. She giggled a little, a happy little sound that I did not truly think I would hear her ever make. "Besides, I was given something that belongs to you, milady." I told her now, sliding my left hand into my pocket as I watched her curiosity rise in her eyes and face. It was something to behold as she sidestepped her pegasus closer to me and I pulled out the magical item that I'd been told to give to her.

"Well now, what have we here?" she asked with a smile, watching as I offered the item to her with clasped fingers about it. But it was only a moment before I turned my hand about, palm upwards as my fingers slid from staying around the item, and her gasp of surprise... or appreciation, perhaps, was easily audible as she recognized its form. "A... an elysium whip?" she breathed out slowly, quietly, her pegasus coming to a stop as I did and I raised the item even further up to her so she wouldn't have to lean down so far to take it.

"It is yours, by right and by choice of our tactician, milady." I told her, and I smiled still as I stretched out... almost on my toes only, I realized. Still, she did not move. Surely, she did not think that the item was not hers or that she did not deserve it? I knew better, the troop knew better... Fiora had never been too good at accepting compliments, from what I had seen of her meeting with others (including Sain) who attempted to provide her with them. I was starting to get uncomfortable with this position after a moment, though...

"Ah... Fiora?" I asked her, watching her with concern as the others in the group continued to head on ahead of us. She finally snapped out of her reverie with a shake of her head, her braided dark green hair falling over her shoulder as she nodded and took the item from me, our fingers brushing against one another before she clasped it in her hand. We both blushed at the same time and then I looked away slowly, beginning to walk again.

"Erk?" I heard her call, before I could walk too far ahead. I turned slowly, looking back up to the girl who was standing there behind me, and smiled softly, cheeks still a little red as I nodded slightly. She smiled in return and slipped off of her pegasus before coming before men and giving me a hug. "Thank you, sir Erk." she said softly, as I felt myself pressed against her slender body, clad in armor and that I had actually seen without most anything on the other day. My cheeks became even more red as I returned the hug, and smiled again as my hands squeezed her back softly.

"You are welcome... Fiora." I replied, my hands leaving her back as I stepped away a little bit, from her embrace. I heard another little giggle erupt from her, and blinked in surprise as I saw her quickly lean before me and kiss my cheek. It was so sudden, that soft feeling of warmth from something other than a blush that I felt, that I stepped back after the merest instant and smiled softly, looking to the ground. "I think it is my turn to thank you, dame Fiora." I murmured, to which I was surprised as I felt her fingers upon my chin and was forced to look up and to her face, which was quite equally as red.

"Nay, Erk. Fiora only, to you." she whispered, and we both smiled as our flushed cheeks began to fade from their reddened color back to their normal colors. She hopped back up onto her pegasus, and then came up alongside me, arm extended to me. I grinned, and took her hand, giving the pegasus knight's hand a soft squeeze before climbing up behind her, and then we were in the air as we attempted to do something that we enjoyed- being close with one another.

Florina was soon beside us, and we smiled over to her. Her blushing face belied her innocence as she waved to us, and I waved back for the both of us.

Perhaps, this is how it should be, I considered.

---

Author's Note: I certainly hope everyone enjoys this... I probably shouldn't have watched Onegai Twins before and during the writing of this, though. hehe, funny stuff there. That was the last chapter- I thought it would be short, actually, but this turned out to be a decent length anyway! Anyway, please leave a review! And, Sara Jaye, I hope you enjoyed! 


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